By Ali Naafiz (Haveeru News Service) 2010-05-04

“Very often, many international governments are reluctant to assist dissidents: reluctant to talk to opposition, especially in countries where opposition is not recognised, where dissent is not allowed. We hope that western societies or western governments would start talking to dissident elements within other countries,” President Mohamed Nasheed said, in his address to the Anna Lindh Prize ceremony.

Until recently, the Maldives lacked freedom of speech and press freedom. Media organisations were monitored by the government, which resulted in the prevention of local media from giving fair and unbiased coverage. Dissent writers and journalists were jailed, shunned and even forced to remain in self-exile, leading to the sudden outburst of the opposition political movement the country witnessed in recent history. The then opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) voiced concerns over the lack of press freedom and freedom of expression in the country, bringing the international community’s attention towards the Maldives.

As we marked the World Press Freedom Day yesterday, the question of whether Maldivian journalists are allowed to exercise the rights to press freedom fully is still shrouded in doubt.

We entered May 3 with news that Maldives climbed slightly in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index, being ranked equally with Tanzina and Albania and ahead of Turkey and Indonesia as the 102th country. But press freedom violations by both the government and political parties continue.

On March 16, 2009, just a week after President Nasheed announced his intention of “turning the Maldives into a safe haven for dissent and oppressed international writers,” Telecommunication Authority of Maldives (TAM), on request of Ministry of Islamic Affairs, blocked a dissident website, raajjeislam.com, just as Dhivehi Observer (DO) was blocked by the former administration. The website was blocked for allegedly publishing an audio recording of a speech given by Imam of Shaviyani atoll Foakaidhoo mosque against State Minister for Islamic Affairs Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, concerning disputes that aroused in the island.

The ban followed another blocking of eight websites, including www.gospelgo.com, feydhooschool.info, www.randomreflexions.com and seedhahithun.com, for allegedly publishing anti-Islamic and pro-Christianity content. According to the authority, feydhooschool.info was blocked on the “request of senior officials of Feydhoo School due to the offensive content on the website,” and Seedhahithun.com and www.gospelgo.com for containing “Dhivehi translations of materials, which promoted Christianity.” However, www.randomreflexions.com, a personal weblog of a local blogger published in English language, was reportedly targeted because it evoked anti-religious debates and discussions around Islam – a claim denied by the blogger.

In a surprise move, Department of Information on February 22 revoked five credit points from the broadcast license issued to DhiFM 95.2, in a dispute over the station’s live broadcast of January’s anti-government protest outside Presidential Residence Muleeage and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Headquarters.

In a series of verbal assaults by frontline members of the ruling MDP and the government against media organisations, a journalist and a videographer from DhiTV, the first private television station established in the country, were forced to leave a rally organised by the party at Lale Youth International School of Hulhumale on March 8. The party claimed the crew were banned by locals.

Journalists and media have been subject to harassment, assault and even death threats by gangs and extremists.

On March 11 death threats calling for the beheading of controversial freelancing journalist/blogger Hilath Rasheed appeared on Muraasil.com, a local online publishing platform. Further death threats calling for the beheading of President’s Special Envoy for Science and Technology Ahmed ‘Sappe’ Moosa, also the Editor of Dhivehi Observer (DO), and Hilath for writing “irreligious articles,” were published in the Maldives blogosphere, the following day.

Abdul Razzaaq Adam, a senior printing staff of Haveeru Daily, was stabbed on March 16, just as he stepped outside the newspaper’s building to go home after work. The attack came hours after a gang of four men attacked five employees of DhiTV outside its studios and then broke into the building, after the station covered the release of a convict from prison to house arrest.

The threats against journalists and media organisations awakened the local press freedom and human rights groups.

Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) issued a press release, condemning the attacks on employees of Haveeru and DhiTV and urging the government to create a “free environment for journalists.”

The commission found releasing criminals into the community was responsible for “the rising trend of violation of free speech, right to live and self-security and freedom” and called upon all relevant government authorities, media, civil society and the public to work in collaboration to “improve the human rights situation in the Maldives and reinstate a safe, peaceful environment for the full enjoyment of human rights guaranteed to all.”

Following the attacks on media staff, President’s Office issued a press release saying, “the government will always support the efforts of journalists to uphold press freedom” and “will not tolerate any threats or actions against that freedom.”

Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) claimed the attacks followed “continuous attempts by politicians to intimidate and mock the media.”

The association issued a press statement accusing the ruling party of “attempting to challenge media organisations and journalists for expressing views different from MDP’s own.”

While media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders on May 3 updated its annual list of the world's 40 worst "predators of the press,” a glance at the statistics of the organisation reveals that Arab nations like Saudi Arabia, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and Egypt are among the world’s top press violators. In retrospect, European countries such as the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway, Belgium and New Zealand were recognised as countries that champion press freedom.

If we really wish to taste a full-fledged democracy, our narrow ‘inside-the-box’ view of what the media’s purpose is, needs to be expanded. As a fledgling democracy still struggling for press freedom, should not we be looking towards Europe, the birthplace and pioneers of freedom of expression, press freedom and democracy, rather than adopting ‘Saudi-style’ journalism?

Now that he is in power, has President Mohamed Nasheed, who suffered behind bars as a dissident journalist in the early 90s, become a champion of press freedom?